Rise Of A Star
by Rogha
Summary: TheatreKid!AU. It's Spring Muse-I-Kal time, and the high school's production of Peter Pan is in dire need of a Wendy. Unfortunately, Maka doesn't have time for another extracurricular! So what's a desperate lead to do, except make some time for her?


**This is my contribution to Reverb 2017! It's my cherrypopper reverb - so I hope you guys enjoy reading.**

 **Disclaimer: do not sue me, i am but a humble barkeep**

* * *

 **Rise Of A Star**

* * *

Talking to Black Star was like getting hit in the face with a cedarwood club. It smelled strongly, it took you by surprise, and no matter how many times it happened it never ceased to disarm you.

Maka remembered a time before Black Star had waited for her after choir to jump her, but it seemed so very far away now. He'd been bothering her about the school musical - like she didn't have enough extracurriculars between choir, softball, the debate club, and the model U.N. She just didn't have time to audition for it, never mind go to rehearsal and learn lines and dance moves and… it made her head spin just thinking about it.

"See you tomorrow, Maka!"

"Oh, right- bye Jackie!" Maka looked up and waved from where she was sliding her new sheet music into a polypocket in her choir binder. There was an art to this, and you couldn't rush art. Also, maybe if she waited around long enough she could dodge Black Star's puppy eyes. It was getting very hard to say no, but she really couldn't handle anymore on her plate.

Or, she considered, eyeing up the window, there was that option.

She stuffed her binder in her satchel and levered open the window and clambered up to perch on the sill. She said a quick prayer before she dropped the bag - she could hear a dull thud when it hi the ground, but it didn't sound like anything broke, not that she had very many breakables in there. It wasn't very far to the ground. She was technically on the first floor, after all.

She pushed off, landing a little harder than she meant to, before standing up and brushing of imaginary dust, She picked up her satchel and turned to leave.

 **BAM.**

Cedarwood club to the face.

"Bl- Black Star!" Maka said, stumbling backwards with the force of the blow. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" Black Star was vibrating with excitement. "I've got great news!"

"Really? Did you find someone to play Wendy?"

"Close! Guess again!"

"I don't know, could you just tell me?" Maka was a little relieved that they hadn't found anyone willing to play Wendy opposite Black Star's Peter. It wasn't like she was highly sought after in general.

"The Model U.N. got disbanded!"

"WHAT!?"

* * *

They were lucky the nurse's office wasn't very secure, because Black Star really needed an icepack. Maka stopped him from chugging a bottle of gummi Frozen themed vitamins - "Hey Maka what do you want to bet that I eat this entire tub in one go?" "I'm not going to-" "You think I can't!?" - and instead bribed him with a packet of peanut M&Ms from the vending machine standing in the hall.

"Explain to me again; why was the Model U.N. disbanded?" Maybe it would make sense this time, and she wouldn't punch him in the face.

"'Kay, so like, you said you couldn't do the musical 'cause of the Model U.N., so then I thought-"

"See, that's where it all went wrong."

"Anyway, I figured that if there was no Model U.N. you'd have time to do the musical, so I accidentally on purpose told Mr. Morte that the Model U.N. is actually a front for weed in the school-"

"Why would you tell him?"

"Uh, cause it is, Maka?"

"I know that! But it was going to look so good on my college what am I going to put there? 'Turned a blind eye while Model U.N. she founded turned into drug ring'?" Maka's head sank into her arms. "I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"You? Maka, no one thinks you had anything to do with it." He rubbed soothing circles into her back. "'Sides, they already searched your locker and there wasn't any weed in it. You're too smart to keep your weed in your locker."

"I don't smoke."

"Stick to that story when Mr. Death talks to you tomorrow."

* * *

"What do you mean you won't audition? You said you didn't have enough free time, so I freed up your time!" Black Star was jogging backwards, barely breaking a sweat. Maka considered herself pretty fit, but that was just showing off.

"You disbanded the Model U.N.!" Maka hissed at him. "That was my baby!"

"Your baby was a drug den and it was going to drag you down," he said, sidestepping in order to lap a student. The student, a blond senior who looked outraged he'd been overtaken by a blue haired junior running backwards, put on a sprint to try and keep up, but he was quickly left in the dust. "I did you a favour."

"I owe you nothing."

"Actually you owe me-"

"We already agreed that I would pay for your Chipotle next time, that doesn't count." Maka pointed at him. "Shame on you."

"Well, how about this - you audition for the musical, and if you don't get it, I'll join whatever shitty club you invent next and make it great by proxy?"

"Model U.N. is a well-"

"Deal?"

"Okay, fine!" She huffed, before putting on a burst of speed, overtaking him. "But if I get it, you owe me at least three Chipotles!"

"Hey wait-! No fair!"

* * *

The auditions were on a Thursday.

Normally, this would've clashed with Model U.N. but Model U.N. didn't exist anymore, so that wasn't a problem.

What _was_ a problem was the fact that Maka had to go next, and the two people before had been awful. No wonder Black Star really wanted her to audition. She was the last person to go.

There was no way she wasn't going to get it. No way in hell.

This was not the life she wanted to lead.

At least the Chipotle would be good.

* * *

Maka didn't check the notice board for the cast list, it was at the opposite end of the school after all. She didn't have time. She'd check it later.

 **BAM.**

Cedarwood club to the face.

"Did you see? Did you see the list is up did you check it? Did you see!?" Black Star latched himself on to Maka's back and she stumbled forward a few steps before hooking her arms around his legs automatically.

"See what?" Maka craned her head to look back at Black Star. She kept heading to her A.P. Bio class, even though she knew Black Star's next class was in the complete opposite direction.

If you had to hitch a lift, then you had to put up with the driver's detours.

"The cast list!" Black Star yelled in her ear. "He posted it three minutes ago."

"Did you get Peter?" Maka asked, as if there was ever any doubt. No one else wanted Peter when faced with the possibility of going up against Black Star.

"You betcha!"

"Star, that's wonderful!"

"Anyway, check it out-" a sheet of crumpled paper dropped suddenly into view, and Maka flailed when everywhere became her blind spot very suddenly.

"Ow, Maks, what the hell!?"

"Black Star you can't just rip the list off the notice boar- I'm Wendy?" She grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. "'Star did you see this? I'm Wendy!"

"Why do you think I brought you the list?" Black Star said ruefully, examining his bleeding elbow mildly. "I needed proof."

"Put this back on your way to class," Maka said, shoving the list into his hands. "I'm going to be late for Doctor Stein, if I don't run."

* * *

Chipotle was good, Maka mused, but was it really worth all this effort and the fall of her beloved, if drug ridden, Model U.N.? It was one of the heavier philosophical questions, to be honest.

Well, she had bargained for at least three Chipotles, so she could probably stretch it to four or five if she played her cards right.

Even though today had just been going to be an initial cast read through of the script to get more of a feel for it, they managed to get the whole way through the script with a little extra time to discuss their characters and got sent home with the following homework: "Try make a start on learning your lines, and if anyone has any ideas for what to do about Tinkerbell, bring those along next week, we don't have enough lights to focus one."

"Are you paying attention?"

"Huh?" Maka looked up from the hard shell taco she was admiring. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I have like the, greatest idea for Tinkerbell, I swear it's genius," Black Star reached over to try and snag one of her tacos, but she smacked his hand away. It wasn't her fault he'd practically inhaled his burrito. "C'mon, Maka, I paid for it…"

"What's your great idea?" Maka knew it would distract him, giving her time to eat her tacos in peace.

"Okay so, like, you know who Paris Hilton is right?"

Maka made a vaguely affirmative noise around a mouthful of taco.

"And you know how she has this dog?"

Maka swallowed. "A chihuahua, right?"

"Yeah, and it's called Tinkerbell!" Black Star said, whipping out his phone to show her a picture of Tinkerbell.

"Tinkerbell's dead!?" Maka gasped, stunned she had missed the passing of the cultural icon.

"Anyway, what if we got a live chihuahua and dressed it up like a fairy and trained it to do all kinds of tricks on stage?"

"Aren't you allergic to dogs?"

* * *

Maka wasn't surprised when Black Star came to school next Thursday with a chihuahua, but in terms of his plan, she highly doubted that his chihuahua was an ideal candidate. First of all, it was pushing the limits of what veterinary science might consider a 'live chihuahua' and even though Maka had never had a dog before, she'd heard it was pretty hard to teach new tricks to an old dog.

And in dog years, this guy was geriatric.

He was shivering in his little fur lined coat, perched in an expensive looking, structured leather handbag.

"Where did you even get him?" Maka asked, reaching over cautiously to pet him. She snatched her hand back when he resurrected himself in order to snap at her hand. "Bad dog!"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to."

Maka raised an eyebrow at him, and he caved approximately zero-point-three seconds later.

"Okay! Alright, I'll tell you - just don't hurt me!" Black Star took a deep breath. "I paid the neighbours fifteen dollars for their dead grandmother's pet dog."

"Why would I not want to know that?"

"Well..." Black Star wouldn't meet her eyes.

"What really happened?"

"When I say, 'gave them fifteen dollars'." Black Star made air quotes with his fingers. "What I really meant was 'I made them fake I.D.s to buy like, beer and lottery tickets'."

"Seriously Star?" Maka said. "You made them fake I.D.s?"

"It's too late the deals done Mr. Snookums is mine now and they got really drunk at the weekend and the cops brought them home," Black Star said quickly. "They don't even have the I.D.s anymore."

"What if they told on you?"

"Maka what have I told you about snitches?"

Maka sighed. "Snitches get stitches."

* * *

It was a few weeks in at this stage, and while Mr. Snookums has yet to master any of the tricks Black Star attempted to teach him, no one had any better ideas.

Black Star insisted that they were making progress, but as far as Maka could see it wasn't visible progress.

He could sit on command when bribed, but Maka was pretty sure that was a part of his existing skill set, and not anything got to do with Black Star's intensive training programme.

Mr. Snookums's tail wagged slowly whenever Black Star was holding him, and he scrabbled feebly to escape the grasp of anyone who wasn't Black Star, biting them if he deemed it necessary. Luckily he only had about ten percent of his evolutionary intended teeth, so it never much hurt when he did.

They were supposed to be doing the kiss today. It was a dress rehearsal, and Maka _was totally okay with it and it was no big deal whatsoever._

She was _fine._

She certainly wasn't freaking out about having to kiss Black Star, who she'd known since before she could tie her shoelaces. Since before she could read. Since before she could remember.

It was weird at all, the flutters in her stomach, the vague urge to say that she had a cold and that she didn't want him to get sick, to make up any reason not to do this. It wasn't like she had a whole lot of experience in kissing to begin with.

She was wearing the old-fashioned nightgown that still smelled like someone really old had died in it. That smell lingered, despite the fact that she'd ran the night gown through the washer and drier, and frebreezed the crap out of it. She had a ribbon in her hair.

Do you know how hard it is to get a ribbon to stay in your hair?

Well it's not easy, that's for sure. She was ready, she was going to go she was ready for this it was going to be _fine._

"It's only a thimble." Maka leaned in… then ducked her head. "High five?"

Black Star rolled his eyes, but he didn't leave her hanging.

* * *

"Maka, I know it's scary," Miss Mjolnir said gently. "But you have to remember it's not really real. You aren't kissing Black Star. Wendy's kissing Peter."

"I know that!" Maka insisted. "Like, technically, I know that. But it's still hard - Black Star's my best friend. Have you ever kissed your best friend."

"I'm marrying him, Maka."

"You know what I mean!"

"Maka, just try your best, that's all I can ask."

"Okay, it won't happen again." Maka hung her head. I'll get it next time."

* * *

She didn't.

* * *

"It's only a thimble."

 _ **Smack!**_

"Sorry-" she mouthed. "Next time."

* * *

"It's only a thimble."

 _ **Smack!**_

" _Dammit!"_

* * *

"It's only a thimble."

 _ **Smack!**_

"I'll get it, I promise-"

"Just carry on with the scene Maka!" Miss Mjolnir called, waving her hand in a 'continue rolling' gesture, Maka recognised from the behind the scenes of films.

* * *

"Maka! Look what I got!" Black Star waved something lavender in colour and glittery in Maka's face. She stepped back from it, before he hit her in the face.

"What is it? Stop waving it around and let me look at it." Maka tried to snatch it out of his hands, but he held it out of her reach. Which should've been impossible, because Black Star was still 'waiting on his growth spurt' but he used one arm to hold her at arm's length and the other to hold the sparkly lavender whatever it was away from her.

"It's a fairy costume! For Mr. Snookums!" Black Star continued to brandish it, pretty far away from her, and somewhat pointed from view by his signature hair. "It arrived just in time! Mira just dropped it off"

Maka squinted at it. It did have wings. That probably made for a fairy costume. As for arriving just in time - the musical was opening tonight. Maka would call that 'in the nick of time' if she was going to call it anything.

"And he wears it? Willingly?"

"Well not yet, but he wears that stupid coat. If I can get him into that I can get him into this," Black Star said with absolute confidence. "He's going to look adorable."

"Where is he?" Maka asked.

"Oh, well, he seemed pretty tired so I put him down for a nap in the boy's dressing room," Black Star shrugged. "We should go wake him up to try it on. Kidd can do last minute alterations on dog clothes right?"

"Probably."

* * *

"He's dead."

"Don't joke about stuff like that - wait, really?" Maka said. "Like, really, really dead?"

"Maks- I don't - It's not like I even liked him -" well that was a lie. Nobody liked Mr. Snookums, _except_ for Black Star. He was a real asshole of a dog. "Maka, _he's dead."_

Maka could hear the break in his voice, and the quiet catch of a sob in his throat. She reached over to rub soothing circles into his back. He sniffed quietly, and she pulled his head into her shoulder.

It was suspiciously damp, but it's not like he cried or anything.

Not where anyone could see him.

* * *

Maka was waiting in the wings while Miss Mjolnir spoke passionately about the importance of theatre and arts programmes in school and informed the audience of Mr. Snookums's tragic and ill-timed departure from this mortal plane.

"Alas, as the saying goes 'the show must go on!"

She told them of how Mr. Snookums's understudy - the Cabbage Patch Kid of nightmares that Dr. Stein used as a bathroom pass - would bravely step up to the plate, last minute.

That should have been the end of the speech, but Miss Mjolnir was incredibly proud of her cast and crew and was not to be stopped from telling everyone how proud she was of them and how hard they worked and _blah blah blah._

The whole thing faded into a hum as the nerves settled themselves in Maka's stomach for the night. Being nervous wasn't a bad thing; it meant she wouldn't be cocky, that she'd be enough on edge to do well.

"Hey."

 **BAM.**

Cedarwood club to the face.

Maka whirled around - Black Star was supposed to enter from the opposite wing, what on earth was he doing here?

"Maka…" he started, a little hesitantly. "You know, you don't have to - you don't have to kiss me if you don't want to. We can just high five again. It's - it's no big deal."

Maka was a little taken aback, but before she could say anything, Miss Mjolnir's heartwarming speech ended in thunderous applause, and Black Star sprinted off to circumnavigate the building to get back to the opposite wing.

* * *

"It's only a thimble."

The kiss was soft and caste, and just a fraction longer than Maka expected she could manage it. When she pulled away, Black Star's cheeks were stained pink.

 _Huh._

* * *

 **Please R &R.**


End file.
